Fairies are fundantally gentle and innocent beings.
They prefer cooperation over conflict, peace over war, and sharing over hoarding.
Compared to the greedy humans, they could be considered almost idealistic in their nature.
However, not all fairies have the sa personality, as if they were manufactured by a machine.
Just like how a person's values change depending on their upbringing and innate abilities, fairies, too, think in vastly different ways based on their aptitudes and interests.
For instance, fairies that enjoy eating sweets while napping tend to be optimistic,
while those who prefer reading books over eating are more calm and ticulous in nature.
In other words, when a fairy’s upbringing and innate personality co together,
even the gentlest of fairies can develop a prickly, pessimistic personality.
“Hey, are you listening? Are you one of those humans with bad hearing? If not, stop ignoring , will you?”
“....”
Standing before was a male fairy, arms crossed, his expression clearly annoyed.
A 2.5-headed creature with his eyebrows furrowed and eyes half-closed.
His purple hair, eyebrows, and contrasting yellow eyes were quite striking.
If he were human, he might have been a cool, charismatic young man.
It was my first ti eting him, but his appearance was strangely familiar.
He was the very being I had been searching for—soone who had appeared in the original story.
‘I didn’t expect to et Murmur here...’
His na was Murmur.
He was the one who had taken the World Tree Seed and hidden it in his secret lair.
By the way, there was no need to find his unusual na strange. This was, after all, typical for fairies.
Just like how I t Chiriru earlier, fairy nas often had this kind of feel to them.
In fact, Murmur’s na felt a bit stiff and pedantic even among fairies.
I had no idea what kind of vibe that was, but it was definitely not the usual whimsical nas fairies tended to have.
‘But no, now’s not the ti for idle thoughts. He spoke to first, so I should respond.’
My mind was in turmoil.
There was the explosion in the Sky Garden, the close call of being discovered,
and now, unexpectedly, the sudden appearance of Murmur.
But since he spoke to , I couldn’t waste ti thinking too long.
If I ignored him, he’d surely just turn away without hesitation.
So, I knelt down to et his gaze and, to show that I couldn’t speak, pressed my fingers against my throat and shook my head.
Murmur scanned from head to toe, his eyes narrowing in suspicion,
before he opened his mouth, as though to say, "If you're lying, you’re dead."
“So, do you know what happened here?”
“...?”
“Don’t know? Huh, I shouldn’t have bothered helping you. You’re useless.”
Calling useless? That was harsh.
But I had only just arrived after hearing the explosion, so there was no way I could know what had happened from just the traces left behind.
I clicked my tongue in front of him, awkwardly scratching my neck.
That’s when I noticed sothing odd in Murmur’s words.
He just said, “I shouldn’t have helped,” didn’t he?
Then, that purple rabbit that jumped ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) out of the bushes earlier... Did Murmur have sothing to do with it?
‘That rabbit saved at just the right mont. Thanks to it, I managed to escape the danger. I guess I should be grateful for that.’
The reason I had interfered with the watch’s location tracking was because
I thought there was a high chance of an outsider being near the epicenter of the explosion.
I was worried that if I got caught up in the incident, it would interfere with my ability to freely roam the Sky Garden.
But I didn’t want to ignore it either.
So I was just planning to check things out quietly and leave without making a scene...
I never expected to be discovered so easily.
If it weren’t for Murmur’s help, I would have been in a lot of trouble.
This was, without a doubt, a huge favor.
Hmm, but isn’t this going against the plan?
I should have made a debt by helping first and then gotten the World Tree Seed.
This way, my plan started to unravel from the beginning. The roles are reversed.
“Hmph, I’ve wasted enough ti.”
Then, as if his patience had worn thin,
Murmur turned and showed signs of leaving, clearly uninterested.
He had co late to figure out the cause of the explosion,
and after confirming that I was of no use, it seed like he decided there was no need to spend more ti here.
“What? Move, don’t block the way. Want to get hurt?”
“...!”
I rushed to block his way as he was about to leave.
Getting up quickly from my crouching position, I wasn’t very graceful,
but I managed to block his path before he completely walked away.
Naturally, Murmur’s mood soured as he was suddenly blocked.
Did he help only to get a thankless response? His expression clearly conveyed his frustration.
At this rate, Murmur’s magic could easily make a ss of things!
Sensing this instinctively, I quickly gestured to communicate.
“What do you want to say? ...Are you offering to help find the culprit?”
“....”
“Hmph, what could a powerless weakling like you possibly do? Don’t be a nuisance and just leave.”
Murmur’s reaction was as sharp as a hedgehog.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at with a look full of hostility, far more intense than what I saw from Chiriru earlier.
But I also had my reasons not to back down.
There was no guarantee I would ever run into Murmur again in this vast Sky Garden.
If I didn’t build so rapport, getting the World Tree Seed would be nearly impossible.
So, sotis, you had to stand your ground.
After a brief hesitation, I raised one arm above my head with a serious expression.
I had to prove why we should stick together.
Reluctantly, I revealed my telekinetic powers.
‘It’s a big risk, but this is all I have right now...!’
Swish! Whack!
But at that mont, sothing suddenly flew through the air and struck my back with a powerful blow.
It was so sudden that my body lurched forward.
In response, I instinctively released my telekinetic power, but...
The voice that ca from behind drained all my strength.
“Don’t fight!”
“Ugh... Chiriru?!”
“...!”
The voice that pierced my ear was none other than Chiriru.
I had just said goodbye to her, so where did she co from suddenly?
Totally flustered, I flailed my arms and collapsed to the ground.
But Chiriru remained stuck to my back like a glutinous rice cake. It was a bit heavy...
“Ugh, ugh... Murmur! Hayang isn’t a bad human! Hayang is a good human who gives cookies!”
“You... What nonsense are you talking about?”
“...?”
Really. What is going on?
I grimaced as I felt the uncomfortable weight on my back,
struggling to rise, holding Chiriru in my arms, and collapsed again on the ground.
Fortunately, Chiriru didn’t struggle at all, quietly settling into my chest.
But seeing the tears flowing down her face made feel a strange sense of guilt.
And why am I Hayang? Does she think my hair is white or sothing?
Hearing a na I had heard before made the tension from earlier drain away.
“Sniff, Murmur...! Hayang is a good human...!”
“Hmph, that idiot...!”
It seed that Murmur had completely lost his composure.
He was deeply flustered because he cared deeply for the fairies in his own kind.
I guess he was worried that I would hurt Chiriru, whom I had just embraced.
And the sa went for glaring at with so much hostility, thinking I might harm the fairies.
I could understand that feeling.
If a vampire were holding Alice in his arms, I’d try to find a way to get rid of him, no matter what. So he was just worried, right?
“....”
I took a deep breath and walked toward him calmly,
not paying too much attention to his increasingly dark expression.
As I got closer, I carefully placed Chiriru on the ground,
then folded my hands in a pleading gesture as if I were praying to Murmur.
Please, let get your help.
That’s the feeling I was trying to convey.
Murmur looked at and Chiriru, who had cald down, in turn,
then, with a face full of annoyance, clicked his tongue.
“Tch, fine, co or don’t! If you’re the culprit, I won’t forgive you!”
“...!”
“Wow, wow? Hayang is happy! Chiriru helped!”
“Shut up!”
I patted Chiriru’s head lovingly as she twirled around,
grateful for the help of making a friend.
What a relief.
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